| CNIDARIA : ACTINIARIA : Actiniidae | SEA ANEMONES AND HYDROIDS |
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| Actinia equina |
Description: This sea anemone has a smooth column divided into a scapus and a narrow capitulum, with a well-marked parapet and fosse. Blue (rarely white or pink) rounded warts are present in the fosse. The tentacles are moderate in length, never banded. The colour is variable: most shades of red, brown, orange or green, usually plain all over but sometimes with blue or yellowish spots or streaks on the column, mostly with a blue line around the edge of the base. Size up to 50mm across the base. Reproduces by viviparity, producing fully formed young anemones.
Habitat: Found on any firm substrate, rocks, stones, breakwaters, etc. From high on the shore to the shallow sublittoral, about 20m depth, but typically a shore species.
Distribution: Very common on all coasts of Britain. Throughout western Europe, south to the Mediterranean and probably to the coast of west Africa.
Similar Species: Genetic investigation suggests that some of the different colour morphs of Actinia equina may be distinct species.
Key Identification Features:
Distribution Map: NBN map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.
WoRMS: Species record : World Register of Marine Species.
iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database
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| Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2016). Actinia equina (Linnaeus, 1758). [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. https://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=D11510 Accessed on 2024-10-07 |
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